This invention relates to an apparatus for spreading and feeding laundry flat work pieces before feeding them to subsequent processing equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,227, assigned to the present assignee, discloses a spreader feeder apparatus for spreading laundry flatwork pieces before feeding them to subsequent processing equipment. Separate pairs of flatwork clamps are normally located respectively at the left end, middle and right end of the apparatus. The left end and right end clamps are movable straight across the entry side of the apparatus to the middle before being spread apart. The paired clamps operate to spread their respective flatwork pieces in the order in which their respective start switches are operated manually. Interference among the pair clamps or between clamps of each pair is prevented. No intermediate flatwork transfer operation is required between the insertion of a flatwork piece into a pair of clamps and the spreading of that flatwork piece.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,645, assigned to the present assignee, discloses a spreader feeder apparatus in which laundry flatwork pieces are spread apart by pairs of clamps, one pair of clamps at the left end, another pair of clamps at the right end, and a third pair of clamps at the center of the apparatus. The spread-out flatwork pieces are blown onto a conveyor for conveying them to the subsequent processing apparatus. Trailing edge sensors are positioned at different levels below the clamps to sense the upward passage of the bottom edge of the laundry flat piece deposited on the conveyor, and a selector switch enables one of the sensors and disables the other, depending upon the speed at which the conveyor is being operated. Proximity switches sense the positions of the clamps. There is an overlying conveyor cooperating with the main conveyor for sandwiching the laundry flat piece as it is moved into the apparatus for stretching purposes. The main conveyor can be moved to an extended position beyond the clamps to facilitate hand feeding of small laundry flat pieces without engagement by the clamps.